BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Merrill Looks at Season And Says He's Innocent

By JACK CURRY

Published: September 24, 1991

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 23—
Stump Merrill wore a ripped T-shirt, long underwear, slippers and an occasional frown today as he spoke frankly about his tenuous future as manager of the Yankees.

The manager made biting remarks about the New York news media, said he was not at fault for the dreary season and bravely claimed he was not fearful of being fired from the job he labored 11 years as a minor league manager to obtain.

"If they fire me, they fire me," Merrill said a few hours before the Yankees rallied to defeat the Brewers, 9-8, here tonight at County Stadium. "I'm not going to worry about it because I can't control the actions of someone else. If that's what they choose, that's what they choose. I can't play for them. With this club, I have done as good a job as I can do." Youth Movement Exacts a Price

The Yankees are using youth to rebuild and it has been tedious. They surged to one game above .500 in July, but quickly plummeted and have lost 22 of their last 31 games. If the Yankees fail to win 3 of their last 13 games, they will be the first team in major league history to finish with a record that grew worse six seasons in a row.

Even though Merrill is aware of the statistics, he thinks he should be back next year. Because he is in his first full season as manager and has been given unproven players, the 47-year-old Merrill thinks he deserves to continue at the helm.

"If they want to throw it in my lap and say it's my fault, they can," said Merrill, who is 113-149 since he was hired in June 1990. "I have no control over that." He said that if playing youngsters "ends up costing me my job, sure it would bother me."

Reached by telephone at his New Jersey home, General Manager Gene Michael continued his stance of not discussing his manager's future. "I don't talk about that," Michael said. "If I go out and say we shouldn't change, how can we change later?" Michael said any announcement about Merrill would be made after the season, but his silence about the issue keeps the doubts about Merrill's status flourishing.

Merrill, who is in the first year of a two-year contract, said he would be an improved manager next season because he has gained experience in his dealings with executives and players.

"I learned a lot of things, but I'm not going to elaborate," Merrill said. "There are some things I did that I wouldn't do again."

The only incident Merrill did mention was the fiasco involving Don Mattingly's hair in August. Mattingly, the team captain, rebelled at being ordered to either get a haircut or not play and the uproar lasted for days.

At the time, Michael took part of the blame for the incident and placed part of it on Merrill. Merrill said he would have treated the Mattingly affair differently and added that much of what happened with the Yankees this year has been "misconstrued." He refused to elaborate and Michael said he was unsure what Merrill meant. Misery From the Media

The manager also criticized the news media for constantly reviewing his job status and snapped, "No one has told me I'm not going to be back except for you guys." He said when the team's managing general parter, Robert Nederlander, recently asked Merrill how strong he was, he replied, "A lot stronger than they are." The "they" was the news media, Merrill said.

As the rambling interview with reporters continued today, the man on the managerial hot seat opened up even further and revealed that it had been a lonely season. Merrill lives by himself in a New Jersey hotel and the morning headlines have not been pleasant wakeup calls.

"It isn't fun to see that kind of garbage in the papers," Merrill said. "New York has always been that way and it always will be. New York wants to deal with the negative because they think it sells papers. They like to drag you through this."

There is a strong feeling among his players that Merrill is a lame duck and will not be back. That may explain why the team's play dropped sharply in the second half, but Merrill said, "That's a poor excuse if it is."

Merrill claimed he does not worry about his future and believes "no news is good news." All he can do is go home to Maine after the season, put his feet up and wait for the telephone to ring.

"I'll find out soon enough," he said. "Right now, I'd like to get these 14 days over so I can rest." INSIDE PITCH

MATT NOKES hit a grand-slam homer in the seventh inning to climax a comeback from a 7-1 deficit and power the Yankees to a 9-8 victory over the Brewers. ROBERTO KELLY drove in four runs as New York won its fourth game in its last 17. RICH MONTELEONE relieved JEFF JOHNSON in the third and notched the triumph with three and one-third scoreless innings. PAUL MOLITOR had a homer, triple and two singles for the Brewers. The grand slam was the first for the Yankees since MEL HALL hit one against Kansas City on June 24, 1989. DON MATTINGLY snapped an 0-for-18 skid with two hits.

Photo: Stump Merrill, whose Yankees had lost 22 of their last 30 games before last night's 9-8 victory over the Brewers, says he has done the best he can with what he has. (Associated Press)